Monitoring infrastructure with embedded nanosensors

A new study finds that micro- and nanosensors can provide real-time feedback …

All engineering products—chemical plants, bridges, buildings, oil rigs, you name it—come with some sort of fixed lifetime. It may be very long, but no (reasonable) engineer expects their designs to last forever. Tracking how well a structure is holding up relative to its design lifetime, however, can be a costly and challenging task.

The authors of a journal article, published in the current issue of International Journal of Materials and Structural Integrity, ask whether the use of micro- and nanosensors could enable the continual monitoring of existing structures. While buildings are designed to withstand nature, they are prone to continuous and uncontrollable degradation during their designed service lifespan. Whether the damage comes from weather, aging materials, tremors, or a simple lack of maintenance, structures break down.

The research team fabricated two types of sensors. The first was a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) for monitoring temperature and moisture content within structural concrete. The second was a nanosensor device that uses nanotubes to detect small cracks before they can become large cracks.

The paper concludes that "if designed properly, wireless MEMS and nanotechnology-based sensors could be used as embedded components to form self-sensing concrete structures." Given the costly nature of repairing or replacing major failures, the authors state that "information obtained from such monitoring techniques would allow the owners to make critical decisions regarding operation, maintenance, repair, and replacement under financial constraints."

Matt Ford / Matt is a contributing writer at Ars Technica, focusing on physics, astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, and engineering. When he's not writing, he works on realtime models of large-scale engineering systems.